EMBRACED BY DARKNESS
by MidnightHowlers
Summary: Within every heart there is darkness. It can start out small but given time the darkness can become stronger When this happens the creature begins to wither and die from the inside The Darkness strangles their heart creating a mindless puppet to do as it
1. CH1 Exile

**EMBRACED BY DARKNESS**

**Chapter 1: Exile**

How she got lost in the forest that's she's been in so many times was beyond her. She sat against a tree; the earth beneath her was dry from another hot summer day. But now that the sun was going down at least it would be cooler. Sakura's skin dripped with sweat, her hair sticking to her face and neck. She wanted to believe that someone would come looking for her, even though she knew no one would.

Sakura grabbed a low branch of the tree she was sitting under and tried to pull herself up. She was just getting over a cold and searching for a way out of the forest for so long had exhausted her. She managed to get on her feet but her legs felt like they could collapse at any moment. Still hanging on to the branch, Sakura slowly put one foot in front of the other in an attempt to walk.

She had only taken two steps when her legs gave out. She fell, face first, onto the ground and felt warm blood on her face. Sakura struggled to get up using the branch for support. She felt her nose, confirming that it wasn't broken. The blood on her face was already starting to dry, she made no effort to wipe it off. She laughed when she realized that she had forgotten why she came into the forest in the first place.

Sakura could not accept that her only option was to crawl. But after falling another seven times and getting cuts all over her arms and legs she finally gave in. On her hands and knees she went, stopping frequently to rest. She went on for what seemed like hours until she could see the trees thinning. Her pace quickened until she was at the edge of a clearing. Sakura staggered forward until she reached the stream that was in the middle and dunked her whole head in, drinking her fill. She then collapsed on the edge of the water unaware of the two pars of eyes that watched her.

The first of the two walked over to Sakura and stood over her. "Dead?" he muttered. "No, unconscious…" The man crouched down and took Sakura's head in his hand examining it. Sakura, who was barely conscious, felt his presence and used the last of her energy to grab the man's arm. To Sakura this person was her life line, she would never let go no matter how weak she was.

The man slipped his fingers under Sakura's hand and loosened it from his arm. Sakura then grabbed his hand and squeezed it before darkness washed over her. The man laid Sakura's hand beside her while the taller of the two walked over to them. "Looks like she got stuck in our Genjutsu." Kisame pointed out. Itachi only nodded still looking over the fallen kunoichi. Kisame continued, "I'm surprised she made it out. The illusion is supposed to suck up your chakra."

Itachi didn't reply. He seemed to have taken an interest in the girl. As to why, he had no idea. Kisame drew his sword and reminded Itachi that they were supposed to report back about the Kyuubi. He lifted his sword and was about to bring it down on Sakura when Itachi grabbed the hilt, stopping him. "You go ahead." Itachi explained. "I'll take care of the girl and catch up with you." Kisame nodded and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Sakura slowly opened her eyes and tried to remember where she was. She sat up and took in her surroundings. The sun was high and she was sitting next to a stream she had never seen before. She was really tired and her limbs were heavy. Sakura lay down on her back and closed her eyes. When she opened them she saw Itachi standing over her. Sakura was so shocked that she rolled over and ran into Itachi's legs.

She gasped and tried to push herself away from him. But before she could Itachi had collapsed on top of her. He wasn't moving and Sakura saw that his eyes were closed. 'Sleeping?' she thought. She tried to push him off of her but he was either too heavy or she was too weak. So she laid there and listened to Itachi's heartbeat until he slowly opened his eyes. Itachi pushed himself up and Sakura wiggled out from underneath him.

They sat in silence, Sakura occasionally glancing over at the Uchiha. As she watched him she noticed how much Itachi and Sasuke were different yet alike. She still couldn't believe they were related. She thought about how Sasuke would do anything to kill Itachi, even give his body to the devil incarnated, Orochimaru. She gasped when she realized it's been almost 4 years since he left and that Orochimaru can now take over Sasuke's body.

Her Chakra flared wildly as she remembered how Orochimaru's sound nin had invaded the leaf village and almost burned it to the ground only a couple months ago. Her own house perished along with her mom inside while she was healing the injured. Tears silently fell down Sakura's cheeks as rage and revenge mixed with her chakra. Itachi glanced at her. Her face was perfectly calm but he could see the tears and feel her chakra. He could see her deepest emotions, no matter how hard Sakura tried to hide them. He could look into the deepest parts of her heart and soul if he wished, using his clans cursed eyes.

Sakura stopped weeping and her chakra returned to normal. She had excellent control of her emotions and knew how to use them in her training and battles. If she lost control now she didn't know if she would have control over her actions. To show emotion is to show weakness, Sakura reminded herself, and a shinobi must never show weakness. For the horrific months after her mom died, Sakura lived off of these words. Building a barrier around her heart, to make sure nothing slipped in or out. Never again would she suffer from a broken heart.

Sakura pulled a kunai out of the pouch on her legs and held it in front of her so that it gleamed in the sun. Itachi watched her actions closely thinking that she might try and take her own life. But the kunai never reached her neck; instead she kneeled down and started to cough up blood. Sakura sat back up and wiped the blood from her face. She glanced at Itachi who was still watching her, his face expressionless. His calm attitude made her angry; she would prefer if he had attacked her or at least say something.

However, his eyes showed his true nature, Sakura could see the hunger in them. He was the predator and she was the prey. The very thought frightened her, even though she had drowned most of her emotions. The silence was uneasy; Sakura didn't know what to say to a member of the Akatsuki and the person that killed almost everyone in his clan. And yet this murderer was human, though some may not think so. He had a heart no matter how heartless he may seem.

Sakura had made her decision. She would get revenge on the sound nin for destroying her village and made her life a living hell. But she needed to become stronger so that she could kill Orochimaru or whoever was in charge of the sound shinobi. She wouldn't be able to accomplish this inside the village but that wasn't a problem for her. She had no one left in the village that would come after her if she did leave.

Her mom was dead; Naruto and Jiraiya had to go into hiding because of the Akatsuki; and everyone else could care less. Sakura sighed and looked at the ground. How was she going to get stronger if she didn't have someone to teach her? She cursed and punched the ground with out channeling her chakra so that only little cracks appeared in the earth. Trickles of blood ran down her knuckles when she saw movement.

Itachi had stood up and was looking away from Sakura, towards the center of the forest. Sakura rose too, and when she did Itachi finally broken the silence. "If you seek power, come with me." He had already started walking when Sakura realized what he had said. She quickly grabbed her waist-length hair that she had been growing and cut it off with her kunai. She then threw the hair into the river to symbolize that she had exiled herself from the Leaf.

Sakura ran to catch up with Itachi and followed behind him. They silently walked until they reached the heart of the forest. Once there Itachi handed Sakura a plain black cloak and told her to put it on. After she had the cloak over her clothes Itachi had started walking again. Sakura had no idea where they were going be decided not to ask. After all this was the path she had chosen. Maybe one day she would return to her village but until then she would have to stay with Itachi and learn everything she could from him.

When darkness fell, Itachi's pace slowed and eventually stopped. Sakura also stopped and sat against a tree as Itachi did the same. She shivered, not because it was cold but the forest was creepy at night. The hours went by slowly; Sakura was unable to sleep. When exhaustion finally washed over her she was asleep for what seemed like half an hour before dawn crept in.

Itachi was first to rise. Sakura watched him through her eyelashes and wondered if he had actually slept. She forced herself to stand up and waited for Itachi to say something but no words escaped his mouth. Instead he only glanced at her and started walking again. Sakura followed silently, hoping that their journey wouldn't be long. But she knew she couldn't turn back now. Not when she had sacrificed everything for this one thing.


	2. CH2 Tourniquet

**EMBRACED BY DARKNESS**

**Chapter 2: Tourniquet**

_Not to have a regret  
never love, never let  
have a courage to forget.   
_

_  
Not too slow, not too fast  
not to leave and not to last  
not to steal from the past.  
_

_  
Split in halves broken hearts  
set adrift, blown apart  
to recover and restart.  
_

_  
Never show so they won't see  
better hide and conceal  
and deceive, and deceive._

_Not to spoil, not to break  
never touch, never take  
not to make a new mistake.  
_

_  
Not to love not to hurt  
find a moment to revert  
not to speak out the word.  
_

_  
To reset and to rewind  
better deaf, better blind  
not to ache, not to die.  
_

_  
Never let them make you numb  
never let them do you harm  
never keep yourself disarmed._

Sakura silently recited one of the many poems her mom made her memorize before she became a ninja. At that time she didn't understand what it meant but now the meaning was clear. These words haunted her mind like a reoccurring nightmare. They also reminded Sakura how naïve she was when she was younger, especially when she became rivals with her best friend because of a boy. She sighed and came back to her senses.

It was the third day since they started traveling. Sakura and Itachi were resting in a clearing close to a river that was surprisingly cold for the summer. They sun was high and beating down on them. The cloak Sakura was wearing before now lay on the grass next to her in an effort to cool herself. She wanted to jump in the river but the current was too strong and knew that it would give her hypothermia. So she lay on the grass while Itachi sat with his eyes closed not aware of the heat.

Sakura drifted in and out of sleep but was wide awake when she felt the chakras of other shinobi. She jumped up to see Itachi already standing, scanning the area with the Sharingan glowing in his eyes. Sakura placed a kunai in each hand and went to stand next to Itachi. The chakras instantly disappeared and all was silent except for the rushing of the river.

Several moments passed until a pack of shinobi jumped out of the trees, surrounding them. Itachi immediately engaged in battle with the nearest ones, finishing them off easily. Sakura, however, was rooted to the spot. The shinobi's matching outfits were the same as Sasuke's, they were Sound nin. She instinctively dodged the shinobi that ran towards her and threw one of the kunai so that it collided with the nin's neck.

The blood that erupted from the man flew onto Sakura's face as another five sound ninja ran towards her. She fluently dodged their attacks and slit their throats. Another 30 or so sound nin jumped out of the shadows to join the fight. Sakura was barely aware of what she was doing; her body was moving on its own. She watched as she slit every throat or pierced every heart of the sound shinobi that tried to attack her.

When the last of the Sound had fallen, Sakura was surrounded by bodies and covered in blood. Itachi was sitting, also surrounded by bodies as Sakura walked toward him. She knelt beside him and pushed his shoulders down so that he was lying on his back. As a medical ninja, Sakura was trained to examine her comrades after a battle and that's what she intended to do.

Itachi didn't react as Sakura removed his Akatsuki cloak and lightly ran her fingers over his torso and arms to check for any broken bones. After running her fingers down his legs she confirmed that nothing was broken. She then started to heal the few cuts he had. She was almost finished when a lone sound nin jumped out of the forest and ran toward her. Sakura stood up but wasn't quick enough to dodge the kunai that the shinobi shoved into her stomach.

The force of the impact sent Sakura flying until she was on the edge of the river. She cried out as she pulled the kunai out of her stomach. Before she knew what was happening she felt the icy water sting her face as she swam to the surface. The current pulled Sakura under again and carried her down river. She struggled to get to the surface but once she did she barely got a breath before she went under again.

Sakura managed to keep her head above water long enough to see the half submerged rocks that the current was carrying her towards. She avoided the first one but couldn't escape from the second one. The rock collided with Sakura's side and she heard a couple of her ribs break. She then let herself be carried by the river but once she saw the waterfall ahead of her she desperately searched for something to grab onto.

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The lone sound shinobi watched as Itachi ran on the side of the river after Sakura. The nin now had the information he was set out to get and disappeared in a puff of smoke only to reappear at the sound village. He ran to the building in the middle of the village and reported what he saw to a silver haired shinobi. Kabuto then went to the onyx-eyed prodigy's room. Instead of knocking he just walked in, the room was in complete shadow and only the outline of the single person in it could be seen.

"I thought I told you to knock," the dark figure said.

"My deepest apologies, Sasuke," Kabuto replied. "It's just that we have the location of your brother."

"…And?" Sasuke replied,

"And," Kabuto continued. "He is traveling with a young woman."

"So?" Sasuke asked somewhat annoyed.

"So," Kabuto said calmly. "The spy says that she is from The Hidden Leaf Village and that she is as beautiful as a cherry blossom and as deadly as an assassin."

Sasuke's eyes widened when he herd this, "Where?" Sasuke asked.

"The Valley of the End." Kabuto finished and left the room.

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What a stupid way to die, Sakura thought as she fell over the edge. Suddenly her outstretched arms collided with a rock sticking out of the down rush. She held onto the rock until the last of her strength left her. Her fingers started to slip when Itachi appeared, standing on the rock. He reached out to grab Sakura's hand but was a second to late. The kunoichi's body went limp as she fell down the waterfall with Itachi jumping after her.

Sasuke silently watched, hidden in the trees, as Sakura fell and landed in the body of water below. She watched helplessly as the last of her breath left her and she sunk deeper into the depths. Her eyes started to blur as an arm wrapped around her and pulled her to the surface. Sakura felt herself being carried and then laid down on the hard earth before her mind went blank.

Itachi put his mouth on Sakura's, forcing life back in her. At this Sasuke's hate towards his older brother grew as he watched the pair. But why did he care? That girl meant nothing to him. She was just another obstacle that he needed to get rid of so that he could kill his brother.'You're wrong,' said a voice in the back of Sasuke's head, but he ignored it.

Itachi forced air into Sakura's lungs until she took a breath of her own. She slowly opened her eyes to see Itachi kneeling over her. Pain went throughout her body when she looked down and saw the wound in her stomach. She lightly put her hand over it in an attempt to stop the bleeding. Itachi moved Sakura's hand and put his own over the wound. His hand started to glow as she recognized the jutsu to be the Shousen no Jutsu.

Sakura's breath became quick and shallow; she was losing too much blood. Itachi's jutsu wouldn't heal the gash or stop it from bleeding no matter how hard he tried. Sasuke watched on as Sakura lay dieing. He wasn't sure if he should try and save her or not. If he did he would have to face off with Itachi, but if he didn't she wouldn't be in the way anymore. He couldn't decide.

Itachi had to find out what was causing Sakura so much pain that her body refused to heal itself. He took his hand away from Sakura's wound and put it on the ground next to her head, his other hand on the other side so that he was on his hands and knees over her. Sakura slowly turned her head to face him and met his gaze. She knew what was coming and was ready when Itachi's dark eyes glowed with the Mangekyou.

Sakura was 12 and was receiving her Konoha headband; it was her first day as a shinobi. The scene changed. Sakura was in the Forest of Death fighting Zaku to protect Naruto and Sasuke. Then she was on the roof of the hospital running to get between Sasuke and Naruto as they fought. Next she was begging Sasuke to not leave Konoha and join Orochimaru. Tsunade was standing in front of Sakura accepting her request to become her apprentice. Her mom's burnt corpse lay at her feet…

All of these memories came back in a rush. Sakura heard herself scream but didn't know why. Itachi wanted to break the connection but couldn't until he found what he was looking for. The scream made Sasuke's blood curdle and sent chills down his spine. He jumped out of the trees to confront his older brother but Itachi paid him no attention. Instead he continued to search the kunoichi's soul.

Sakura was standing in the middle of a labyrinth with doors along all the walls. She opened the door closest to her and looked inside. The room was small and empty so she closed the door and opened the one next to it. This room, like the other, was empty. She continued to search the rooms only to find them all empty even though she had no idea what she was looking for.

The next room Sakura opened, however, was not empty; inside was a large cracked mirror. When she looked into it she saw herself lying on the ground pouring crimson regret from the wound in her stomach. The reflection suddenly changed to reveal the image of a smiling Naruto. 'Sakura-Chan!' Sakura could hear his voice as if he was right beside her. The image changed to the time when Naruto and Sakura had promised each other that they would bring Sasuke back together. The mirror then reflected Sakura's inner self and together they yelled: 'I will not die!' They simultaneously punched the mirror but instead of shattering its cracked pieces came together and everything went black.

Itachi broke the connection immediately. When he did, Sakura closed her eyes and fell into an unconscious state. He understood now, Sakura's will to live was broken but now it is strong. The wound had stopped bleeding and was already starting to close thanks to Itachi's jutsu. He stood and glanced at Sasuke but otherwise paid him no attention. Sasuke became furious at this.

"Look at me!" he yelled. But Itachi ignored him and knelt back down to heal Sakura's ribs. Sasuke threw a kunai at him but he expertly caught it and threw it back at Sasuke who dodged it. The younger Uchiha noticed how his brother's attention was on the kunoichi. 'If I kill the girl, will he fight me seriously?' Sasuke wondered, he decided to give it a try.

Itachi stood up and faced his younger brother as Sasuke pulled out his Kusanagi. The Sharingan glowed in each of their eyes as the walked toward each other. When they were only a foot apart Sasuke and Itachi disappeared. Their figures were blurs and only the sound of clashing metal could be heard. Sasuke separated himself from the battle and stood over Sakura. He lifted his sword but before he could bring it down Itachi was on the other side of Sakura. His usually calm eyes burned with fury as he kicked Sasuke so hard that he flew back and hit a tree. He was about to attack again when Sakura opened her eyes and grabbed his ankle.

"Stop."


	3. CH3 Omnipotence

**EMBRACED BY DARKNESS**

**Chapter 3: Omnipotence **

"Please…Stop…"

The words came out of Sakura's mouth as barely a whisper, her hand still gripping Itachi's ankle. Sasuke quickly recovered from the attack and jumped back into the cover of the trees when he saw that Sakura had woken up. He sheathed his Kusanagi and sat on a branch silently watching, he didn't want to face his former teammate that he was willing to kill so that his brother would pay attention to him.

Sakura's eyes were dull and half closed as Itachi walked away from her. She was shivering and her muscles were too weak for her to see what the Uchiha was doing. She didn't know who Itachi was attacking a minute ago or why she had stopped him, maybe mercy was one of her weaknesses. Several minutes later he came back and started a fire as close to Sakura as he could without burning her. The warmth helped but it didn't make the numbness she felt go away.

Itachi knelt beside the kunoichi and started to remove her clothes that were full of freezing water. Sakura was too weak to resist but she wouldn't have anyway. She knew a lot about hypothermia and being in cold clothes was the once of the worst things you could do. Once she was completely bare Itachi took his cloak off and put it on her as she lay on the earth. Sakura had stopped shaking and watched as the Uchiha buttoned up the cloak. He then lay next to her and pulled her towards him in a kind of embrace to share his body heat.

As Sasuke watched a new emotion surged throughout his body along with fury. 'What is this feeling? Jealousy? No, that can't be it.' He considered attacking Itachi again but knew that it would be a waste. The key to his brother was through Sakura, this experience had proved that. But he still wanted to know why the pair was traveling together. He knew that Sakura wouldn't go with the elder Uchiha by choice but it looked that way. He concluded that Itachi forced her to go with him. But why?

If only Sasuke knew how much Sakura had changed since the last time they saw each other. How much hell she's been through and how her heart chose revenge over everything else just like Sasuke's had. How she would do anything to get power. They were so alike now yet so different. They were truly perfect enemies. The feelings Sakura had for Sasuke back then were still there, hidden in some far away and unreachable crevasse inside Sakura's heart.

Sakura rested her head on Itachi's chest and closed her eyes. His heartbeat was faster then hers because of the hypothermia. She could feel the warmth of his blood when she always thought his blood was cold. Maybe this monster isn't heartless, she thought. Itachi held her tightly and Sakura could tell that he was asleep. She noticed that this could possibly be the only time he's slept since they started traveling. Sakura closed her eyes and eventually drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

The chirping of crickets awoke Sakura from her slumber. She was lying on the ground and the warmth she had longed for was gone. From what she could tell the sun had just gone down. She tried to push herself up but failed and noticed that she was wearing her own clothes. The fire had burned down to embers and the older Uchiha was nowhere in sight.

Sasuke was still perched in the tree, watching. Now was a perfect time to get to the kunoichi, Itachi's been gone for hours. Still he couldn't decide what to do with her if he did kidnap Sakura. He could kill her, or use her as bait, or even make her obey him. Sasuke considered all the possibilities but still couldn't decide. He never thought that Sakura would be one of the obstacles between him and his brother, so he never thought of a way to remove her from the fight.

Sasuke was about to jump out of the tree when he saw how Sakura was trying to get up. He thought about if he should rescue her but pushed the thought away. He wasn't a hero, and maybe she didn't need saving. Before he could gather his thoughts, Sakura was on her hands and knees, panting. Her muscles ached as she slowly got to her feet and started walking towards the tree Sasuke was in.

He quickly hid his chakra as Sakura came closer. She stumbled as she walked and grabbed onto the trunk for support when she reached the tree. Why she came to this tree was a mystery to her. She felt attached to this tree for some unknown reason. Sasuke looked down at her from his branch that was concealed with leaves and saw her up-close for the first time in almost a year when her and Naruto came after him.

Her eyes weren't as soft as before, now they showed only hate and revenge. They were the same as his; only in color were they different. 'What's happened to make her like this?' Sasuke thought. Sakura's skin was a pale tint of blue because of the hypothermia. The younger Uchiha concentrated on his hearing to listen to her heart beat. It was too slow and Sasuke knew that moving around was dangerous but he couldn't do anything to help her without giving himself away.

Sakura became dizzy and closed her eyes to try and steady herself. She kept them closed while she listened to the night. The sounds drowned out her senses and she didn't notice as the older Uchiha appeared and walked toward her. Only when he was right in front of her did she notice his presence. Sasuke watched intently as his brother picked up the cherry blossom and carried her away from the Valley of the End.

Sakura snuggled her head into Itachi's chest, happy that the warmth was back. Sasuke silently followed, jumping through the trees while using his transparency jutsu. Itachi also started jumping from branch to branch still carrying the kunoichi. He knew Sasuke was following them but he didn't do anything about it. Sasuke wondered if he was being led into a trap and put his guard up.

But Itachi kept going until the sun was high when he stopped inside of a clearing. Once there he placed a sleeping Sakura on the ground and sat against a tree. He rested for only half an hour when he picked the kunoichi up and started off again with Sasuke in his wake. Sakura awoke soon after and watched the trees fly by her as Itachi jumped from tree to tree.

Soon after night fell Itachi started to slow and eventually stopped. He dropped to the ground and started to walk along a road with a city in the distance. Sakura recognized it easily even though she's only been there once, it was Border Town. The reason for its name is simple; it's next to the border between the Fire Country and the Rain Country.

Itachi turned and stared at the spot where Sasuke was hiding. Even though Sasuke was invisible to the normal eye, it wasn't for the Sharingan. The elder Uchiha then started walking towards the town. The closer they got the more people were running up and down the streets. Many of the people were either buying or selling a variety of merchandise.

Sakura was fascinated at how many different types of people there were. She was also worried that someone from the Leaf Village might see them. But no one paid them any attention as they walked down the busy street and Sakura wondered if they were somehow invisible. The further they went threw the town the more she was sure that no one could see them. She wondered when Itachi had put the jutsu on them, she never saw a hand sign, but maybe he didn't need one.

At the end of the town there was a small forest. Itachi walked through it, still carrying Sakura, until he reached the edge of a clearing. At first glance it looked empty but Sakura could see the traces of a Genjutsu around the clearing. He helped Sakura stand on her own and did a couple hand seals. A hole in the illusion opened and the pair stepped inside.

Sakura almost gasped; in front of her was a beautiful mansion. She leaned on Itachi as they walked closer. When they reached the door it opened on its own by invisible hands. The Uchiha led Sakura to the first room down the hall and told her that it was hers. He left her when she went inside and slid the door closed. She immediately collapsed on the bed and examined her new room. It was bigger then her old one and had its own bathroom along with a big closet.

Voices could be herd from the hall but Sakura couldn't tell what they were saying. She recognized one of the voices to be Itachi's but she couldn't put a face to the other. After pulling herself out of the bed she went into the bathroom and pulled off her clothes. The hot water of the shower soothed her sore muscles and removed the dry blood that was still on her skin.

Sakura walked out of the bathroom with a towel around her and noticed that a tray of food had been put on the table next to her bed. She was surprised at how someone had come into her room without her knowing but still ate it in a hurry. When she was done she inspected the closet. It was full of women clothing, from kimonos and geisha attire to ninja gear, the Uchiha crest on almost all of it. As she went through the garments she noticed that they were all very old and haven't been worn in years.

As Sakura went through the kimonos she remembered how badly she had wanted to become a geisha before she became a shinobi. But her mother told her that becoming a geisha was hard and that she should become a shinobi so that she could help protect the village and everyone in it. Sakura knew she made the right decision between the two but still wished she had a kimono of her own.

Sakura could tell that the Uchiha's shared the fondness of the color black. All of the kimonos were black with some type of design on it. Her favorite of them all was the one with two silver and gold phoenixes flying through cherry blossoms. She put the kimono away and slipped a plain black yukata on. The silk ran over her skin like waves and fit perfectly in length.

The ninja was gear was set up perfectly and Sakura was afraid to mess it up. From what she could see all of the basic weapons were there, mouth embers, exploding notes, smoke grenades, soldier pills, makibishi, kunai, senbon, and shuriken. But there were other, more custom weapons such as, a katana, fans, scrolls, and an ANBU mask in the design of a cat.

Still Sakura didn't touch any of it. She felt like she was trespassing on someone else's property. Above the weapons were three different kunoichi outfits. And like everything else they were black. Sakura wanted to try them on but thought better of it. She guessed that everything belong to Itachi or someone from his clan that died or was killed in the massacre. But maybe this stuff was for her to use? She didn't know and decided to push her luck.

The next morning, Sakura woke to the sound of people running up and down the hall outside her door. She had no idea that so many people lived here and wondered why. Once she slipped out of bed she looked in the mirror and tried to make herself look decent. She was still wearing the yukata from yesterday while a lot of the stuff that was in the closet was now spread out on the floor. Sakura rushed as she tried to put everything back the way it was. When she was almost done someone knocked twice on her door and walked in. A girl only a few years older then herself was standing in the door way.

"Breakfast is ready, Sakura-sama."

Sakura followed the girl out of the room, still pondering on why the girl called her 'Sakura-sama'. As they walked Sakura saw many people, both male and female, running in and out of all the different rooms. She understood now, these people were servants of this house. But she didn't know if they were servants of Itachi. Only someone of great, omnipotent power could own servants. And Sakura had to admit, Itachi did have great power.

The girl led Sakura through many different rooms until they reached a formal dinning room. Itachi was already sitting cross-legged at the table wearing a plain black yukata that was similar to Sakura's. On the table were tea, toast, rice, miso soup, fish, and pickled plums. After she sat down and poured herself some tea, the kunoichi helped herself to the food. Sakura was careful to eat slowly even though she was starving. She glanced at Itachi's plate and guessed that he only had toast since there were crumbs on his dish.

He was as silent as ever and watched as Sakura ate. When she was finished she rose to her feet and Itachi did the same. Sakura could tell that the Uchiha wasn't getting any sleep because of the darkness around his eyes. Or was that always there? She didn't notice it before but pushed the thought out of her mind. As they stood there Sakura thought that Itachi had something to say but when no words escaped from his mouth, the kunoichi started walking back to her room.

When Sakura reached her door she paused and waited. Itachi said nothing but when she opened the door and was about to walk inside words finally escaped from his mouth. "Your training starts tomorrow." Sakura pretended not to hear him and closed her door behind her. She heard the opening and closing of another door and knew that the Uchiha had disappeared to his room across from hers. The kunoichi walked over to the table near her bed, grabbed a piece of paper and started to write:

_There was once a time I was sure of the bond_

_When my hands and my touch and my thoughts were enough_

_We are the same, but our lives move along_

_And the third one between replaces what I once loved_

Sakura didn't know where the words came from but as she read it over she knew that the poem was directed to the younger Uchiha. The very thought scared her. She had to keep convincing herself that emotions were a burden and that she had to keep herself numb to survive in this world. Besides she may have to kill Sasuke if he was the one who ordered the sound nin to attack the leaf. She was an avenger now and it didn't matter who she had to kill to get revenge.


End file.
